This soldier's family serves, too

Wife, daughters supportive, moving to military housing.

Wife, daughters supportive, moving to military housing.

July 17, 2008|VIRGINIA RANSBOTTOM Tribune Staff Writer

Sgt. Brian Turner, of Mishawaka, is on tour of duty in Iraq and now his family is reporting for duty. Dawn Turner and her three daughters, Brittney, 16, Allison, 12, and Chrissy, 9, are moving from their home in Mishawaka to military housing at Fort Polk, La. While Brian is building mobile bridges with the 814th Army Engineer Company, his family is closing the gap between his home base. Brian's tour of duty will be over in August. The family hasn't lived together for a year. In that time, Brian has missed the funeral of an aunt and the 80th birthday of a great-aunt. He couldn't be there for a friend diagnosed with cancer. He missed his daughter's sweet 16 birthday and the day she earned her driver's license. "It's a whole year of life that he can't get back," Dawn said. And chances are it will happen again, so the family is moving to be together every moment they can. "The kids have learned that material things don't matter," Dawn said. "Time together does." Since Brian was called to service last year, Dawn stopped her cleaning business to accommodate the flurry of travel for Brian's training and graduation. "Life has turned totally upside down," Dawn said. From January to April, Dawn did not know what her husband looked like. When she finally received a picture, she was shocked at the weight loss. Now she has more than 500 pictures and is well-known at the post office for sending care packages of Monster drinks to help Brian get through 12- to 15-hour workdays. Since March, Dawn has moved the family's belongings to the military base, signed for a house, closed on a house, traded in vehicles and enrolled the girls in a new school. "The worst thing about moving is that I don't know where I'll be graduating from school because his position could change," said Brittney. "I just hope he'll be there when I graduate." Brian enlisted as an active duty Army Reservist after serving as a Navy recruiter in Mishawaka for five years. Why would he put himself in the line of fire? "He said a football player doesn't practice to never play," Dawn said. "Just as the military doesn't train to not serve their country in time of war." Dawn says he is protecting his daughters so they can have their freedoms. Brian began his military career after graduating from Mishawaka High School in 1988. He served as a Navy Seabee. "He just left Somalia when 'Black Hawk Down' happened," Dawn said. Brian's expiration term of service is 2010, and he plans to sign up for another 10 years before retiring. This past year, he's built bridges in Qatar and Kuwait and helped construct the longest mobile bridge in Iraq, which floats on seven pontoons over the Euphrates River. He also checks bridges for explosives. "The Iraqi people thank him," Dawn said. His family is proud. Chrissy hugs her teddy bear, dressed in Army fatigues. Her face lights up showing off the American flag patch her dad plucked from his uniform and mailed to her. "He showed up for my birthday last year," she smiled. "That was my birthday wish." Stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., for training, Brian drove eight hours to spend two hours with his daughter on her special day. The Turners said they will feel safer living on base, and Brittney will no longer have to lend her muscles for heavy projects. "They scan IDs and know who's on base," Dawn said. "We also have 24-hour maintenance and get an hour a month for the honey-do list." Of course the family always worries about Brian's safety. "I get really worried when I haven't heard from him in a few days," Dawn said. "When he calls, we drop everything else." Brittney religiously checks her MySpace page for messages from Dad. She, too, worries. "When someone dies (in Iraq) they shut down computers and phones until family members are contacted," Brittney said. "I pray for him all the time," said Brian's mother, Karen. "I'll feel much better when he's stateside." Brian's mother; dad, John Sr.; and brother, Nathan, have already been to Fort Polk to help set up housekeeping for the family. Although her daughter and grandchildren are moving 1,100 miles away, Blanche Holcomb was also supportive. "He's taking care of homeland security and helping the people in Iraq," Blanche said. "I can't imagine living where you don't have freedom."Staff writer Virginia Ransbottom: vransbottom@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6344